This invention relates to a method and apparatus for processing embossed cards such as bank cards, medical examination cards, and the like on which characters are embossed, and more particularly, a method and system in the embossed card processing system for reading the embossment on the card.
Embossed cards generally made of plastic material, such as bank cards, medical examination cards, membership cards, and the like on Which characters (letters, marks, and the like) recorded in the form of the embossment have been widely known.
Data recorded on such embossed cards include a personal name, a registration number, birth date and sex. These data may be used for example to identify the person who holds the card. For example, at a hospital, a patient is required to submit an examination card when he visits the hospital for consultation and When he submits the card the clerk at the hospital transfers the data onto a slip or the like.
Embossed cards are also used in financial institutions such as banks. For instance, a customer to a bank may bring with him an embossed bank card and insert it into an automatic teller's machine (ATM). The card is then processed. The embossed characters are transferred on a recording slip or journal for confirming the use of the bank card for the transaction.
If the slips used for these operations are formed of a pressure sensitive paper, such transfer can be effected by placing the slip on the embossment and applying pressure by means of a roller, for example. This method of transfer eliminates the need of transfer by handwriting or by manipulation of a keyboard which is inherently associated with the risk of clerical errors.
However, once the information has been transferred from the card onto a slip, the card is returned to the patient or customer and further transfer of the information to other papers such as accounting sheet had to be effected by handwriting or by use of a keyboard. This is time-consuming and is susceptible to errors. Moreover, the informatIon thus transferred by use of a pressure sensitive paper cannot readily be used for further processing and does not facilitate further reliable reproduction.
Furthermore, in automatic processing machines such as an ATM of the prior art, many components are disposed along the card transport path Such components include a magnetic strip reader/writer for reading and writing record information from or onto a magnetic strip on the embossed card, a slip container unit containing receipts and journals, an imprinting mechanism consisting of a pressure roller, a printing mechanism comprising a printing head, a cutter mechanism for cutting the receipt into slips, and a journal wind-up mechanism for winding up the journal that has been printed.
To couple the embossed card processing system having various components described above, particularly the imprinting mechanism and a space for accommodating slips which are relatively large, with the card insertion opening on a customer receiving panel near which are provided various parts or components, such as a display unit, keys, a cash insertion/dispensing opening, a bank note insertion/dispensing opening, the embossed card transport path necessarily becomes long. This increases the size and cost of the apparatus.